Rumours abound as Beverly Hills fires staff

Companies / 18 November 2012, 12:17pm

Amanda Khoza

Durban - About 40 staff members employed by Tsogo Sun’s Beverly Hills Hotel stand to lose their jobs as an internal investigation uncovered that they had been manipulating entries on their timesheets. But the staff suspect the hotel is cutting staff because it has become unprofitable – a claim denied by the hotel.

Of the estimated 200 employees, the Sunday Tribune has been reliably told, 40 staff have already appeared before disciplinary hearings in an ongoing investigation. It is believed four have been dismissed and eight suspended.

The Sunday Tribune spoke to several disgruntled employees, one of them a long-serving casual employee.

He said: “There was a lot of confusion about the timesheets. I think that the company will fire all of their casual staff to introduce labour brokers so that they can pay them less,” said the father of six who has been working at the hotel for 15 years.

Another employee who is one of the four that have been fired said, “I dedicated my life to the Beverly Hills as a casual worker and they fire me because I was late by 20 minutes.” He said, “I think they want to down staff because they can’t afford us anymore, but [on Monday] I am going to the CCMA to lay a complaint,” said the employee.

Another staff member who has been suspended said, “Everyone is guilty of this so- called ‘time fraud’ because we have all been late, but only a few have been fired or suspended. It is not fair.”

This Christmas will be a sad one for the woman’s family. “I am the breadwinner and if they don’t call me back, I don’t know what I am going to do – I won’t get a bonus.”